ArcaMax

Dear Annie: My husband "Jack" has become so angry with me lately, and I don't understand why. We have been married for 10 years, have two beautiful girls, ages 6 and 4, and he's a great dad. However, with me, he is short-tempered and does not want to spend any "alone" time with me when I suggest we have date nights.

Jack refuses to discuss what...Read more

His voice vibrated with anger. It was contained, waiting for the release of the hello that never came, and my voicemail message forced him to change his tactic. He knew he had to keep that lid on to get a return call, but there was a Tupperware burp at the end, when he spat out an ask on what my plans were to enact the change he wanted.

He ...Read more

Dear Annie: I am 28, a college graduate, and have been told by my family and friends that I am good-looking. I am respectful of women I take out on dates; I pay for all the meals, am pleasant and interesting to talk to, and am neat and clean. I smell good, from cologne to fresh breath, and always dress neatly and fashionably. I am in finance and...Read more

Dear Annie: I'm a 63-year-old widow with three grown children. Two of them live nearby and are wonderful children, while the third is estranged and lives several states away. It's been six years since I've seen her. She's sent very brief emails wishing me a happy birthday, etc., but nothing more.

Over the course of these six years, my other ...Read more

Dear Annie: I've been friends with "Mark" since high school, which was over 15 years ago. He actually feels more like a brother than a friend. But over the past year, there's been a shift in him. He's gotten deep, deep into conspiracy theories. Every conversation somehow turns into a rant about the government's hidden agenda or the evils of ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for eight years, and every vacation we take somehow turns into a group trip. He used to only invite his brother or his parents, but now the expectation is basically that we travel as one big extended family.

The problem is, I don't enjoy these trips. His family is kind but overbearing. I feel ...Read more

As promised, here is more food for thought. Read the following sentences closely, and mark whether you agree or disagree with each.

--Going places alone is the last resort. It makes me look and feel like a reject.

--Marriage and children are the ultimate fulfillment for every woman.

--Being married is better than being single.

--Women who ...Read more

Dear Annie: I have had a close friend for 44 years. We have been through marriages, children, illnesses, holidays, losses and all the ordinary ups and downs that come with a friendship that lasts nearly half a century. That is why something very small has hurt me more than I expected.

Recently, I was very ill for three weeks with vomiting, ...Read more

Dear Annie: My sister moved in with our parents in the family home. After my mother sadly passed away, my father and sister continued living there together. Over time, my sister seemed to take over the running of the household. She even had the telephone disconnected, and there were other decisions made that left me feeling increasingly shut ...Read more

Dear Annie: My husband and I took in five siblings after both of their parents died, even though we were already raising a large family of our own. Overnight, our lives changed. The children were 7, 9, 12, 13 and 15 when they came to us, and we did our best to give them safety, stability and love. We showed up for school events, sports, camps ...Read more

Millennials are a cultural infrastructure, like an older overpass everyone depends on, but it's starting to carry more weight than it was originally designed to hold. We're trying to move things forward as we absorb tension from both directions. And increasingly, this generation is being asked to adapt to a world we did not build, as parts of it...Read more